South Africa is a strange place when it comes to supporting music made by our fellow countrymen – just have a look at the comments on popular local music sites or blogs. Everyone is an expert and I honestly suspect a lot of these “experts” or “music journalists” actually listen to very little local music themselves – they are too busy penning down newer and shittier ways to be sarcastic about bands not from Bellville or Pretoria or wherever the fuck their friends come from.

This new, weekly feature is not about that – it is simply about punting two things: new music, and free music. Every Friday we’ll present a list of five tracks we enjoyed receiving from bands during the week (we’ve started with three because we don’t want to overwhelm you, sweethearts). The weekly post will also feature a pretty pic of the band and some stats. The rest is up to you – if you like a particular track, download it courtesy of the band and tell all your friends. You just might find something that gives you a hard-on.

The musicians featured have all been kind enough to not charge you for their music – show some love in return by checking them out when they next play in your neck of the woods.

If you have some music you’d like to submit to be featured, find the author of this post on Twitter.

1 – Stepdog – Angie

“We are all bought and sold by our adoptive families of work and study, pets to our owners. The wildness that keeps us alive opposed by the tameness we call human. The loss of our innocence for the gained ” emperors new cloths” of commercial media. ‘..my inner wildness wanders in my shadow, out of sight, out of mind, behind my back… my own personal step-dog.”

Stepdog hails from Stellenbosch and consist of Jonathan, Beitel and Jean. Their sound is punted as Creedance Cleerwater Revival meets Bob Dylan, with raspy vocals and toe tapping rhythms. Their first single, Angie, was given away with the October issue of Your LMG last year and plunged into the hearts of a lot of people. As a thank you to their fans they have now made their entire debut EP, Amy After Dark, available for free download. Fun fact: all the songs on the EP are named after girls.

You can download Angie, along with the rest of Amy After Dark, from their website.

2 – Fox Comet – Same Way

“We are a fun loving care free band that enjoys whale watching from a yacht and late night games of chess.”

The guys from Fox Comet recorded their debut single at well renowned Cape Town studios, Sound and Motion. The song is upbeat and quirky and deals with past loves trying for a little more action. It’s one of those great sing-a-long tracks at gigs. The music video will be shot in April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_VBH_C56qk

You can download Same Way from their website.

3 – Fulka – Dancing In Our Darkest Days

“We want to satisfy both electronica enthusiasts and folk aficionados alike, or even just those stumbling on the road less travelled.”

Fulka tells me they are Pretoria-based but Poland-inspired. Their fusion of electronica and folk not only makes the “often intimidating aural landscape of the electronic genre palatable to listeners, but is used to showcase the complexity inherent to the seeming simplicity of the folk genre”. Basically they’ll make you like both at the same time.

If you like what you hear, skoot over to their Facebook page and claim your free copy of Dancing In Our Darkest Days.